The challenger bank which started out offering FX and a pre-paid card for travellers, is now one step closer to gaining a UK banking licence as it launches GBP direct debits.

All EEA customers with UK account details will be able to make regular or recurring direct debit payments straight from their Revolut accounts. It said direct debits were one of the most requested features from its customers.

These types of payments will be protected by the GBP Direct Debit Guarantee which means that if there’s certain fraudulent activity or an error affecting the payment, you’re entitled to a refund.

It’s free to use and Revolut said customers can set up as many direct debits as required. However, if you do pay a direct debit via your Revolut account, make sure to cancel any existing direct debits from your usual account so you don’t pay twice.

In the past, Revolut has been criticised for not checking and flagging suspect payments and given the new direct debit feature, it said it has a ‘sophisticated suite of financial crime detection systems’ to monitor transactions with any potential illegal activity being reported to the relevant authorities.

Nik Storonsky, CEO and founder at Revolut, said: “Around-the-clock access to a real-time payments infrastructure is key to building any successful financial service. We are providing Revolut customers with an alternative digital payments infrastructure unshackled by a reliance on traditional and slow legacy banking. GBP Direct Debits are the latest integration, as we build towards becoming the bank of the future.”

The new feature will use Modulr’s direct debit mandate service to automate payments.